Imported onions to bring down prices in markets: Union minister of state.

PUNE: Onions will be cheaper in local markets as the UPA government has begun importing them from Afghanistan, China, Turkey and Pakistan, said Union minister of state for agriculture Tariq Anwar on Thursday.

He was speaking to reporters at a function organised by the All-India Qaumi Tanzeem, Pune branch. Anwar is its national president.

"The prices of onions have skyrocketed because of hoarding and black-marketing by traders. The UPA government has instructed the state governments to exercise their right in de-hoarding onions. The supply of onions from Nashik to New Delhi was disrupted because of heavy rains," he said.

"With the government taking a decision to import onions from the four countries, the prices of onions which have skyrocketed for quite sometime will get slashed and the common man will get relief once the onions are made available in the local markets at a cheaper rates like before," Anwar stated.

On home minister Sushilkumar Shinde's letter asking states to ensure that innocent Muslims are not charged with terror, Anwar replied there is a feeling among Muslims that the police to overcome failures were implicating innocent Muslims in terror cases.

He said he was of the view that police should conduct detailed investigations and collect proper evidence before effecting the arrest of any person in terrorism.

"There are several instances in which innocent people were framed in false cases, but they were let off by the courts due to lack of evidence, but after spending a decade or more in jail. NCP chief Sharad Pawar has written to Shinde to ensure that police should exercise utmost care while effecting such arrests. If a person is branded in a false terror case, his family is ruined. Shinde has written to all chief ministers to instruct police that no innocent people should be arrested in false cases. We are planning to take up the case of Mirza Himayat Baig who was sentenced to death in the Germany bakery bomb blast with the government for transferring the investigations to the National Investigating Agency on behalf of the All India Qaumi Tanzeem," he said.

On the implementation of the Food Security Bill, the minister said Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana have already implemented the bill while instructions have been issued Maharashtra to implement it as soon as possible. He said there were bottlenecks in implementing the bills because the public distribution system (PDS) in several states is not up to the mark. The PDS is a state subject and they should take a call on the issue for improving its functioning at the time of implementing the bill, he added.

Earlier, Anwar participated in a seminar on "Indian Democracy and India against Communism at Camp and felicitated additional commissioner of police Abdur Rehman for a book on the recommendations made by Justice Sachar committee in a simple language for the benefit of the public.

Munaf Hakim, chairman of the state minorities commission, Vandana Chavan, Rajya Sabha MP, president Iqbal Jahagirdar and joint secretary Haji Zakir Shaikh of the All India Qaumi Tanzeem (Western Maharashra) and others attended the seminar.

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com